My Guardian, My Love
by Sovereign64
Summary: AU Story. Rukia Kuchiki learns that her friend, Ichigo Kurosaki, is more than just her best friend in school. COMPLETE!
1. Friendship

Ryo: Hi guys, here is the IchiRuki story which I promise to do after I finished writing Momolan. Also, just to let you all know, this is an AU story, means the story is set in an alternate universe and none of the charcters have shinigami powers. Okay, without further ado, here it is, my first IchiRuki original story, enjoy!

_**My Guardian, My Love**_

_**Chapter 1: Friendship**_

_SNAP!!!_

"God dammit!" Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year old orange-haired teenager, yelled as his pencil for the third time. His friends, Rukia, Renji and Orihime were sitting next to him around the living room table.

He, Rukia, Renji and Orihime have been friends since they were in the sixth grade. Since then, they would usually hang out, chat, and do homework together. They loved each other and whenever there have troubles, they are always there for each other to overcome them.

Rukia, Renji and Orihime watched as Ichigo furiously sharpens his pencil with his pencil sharpener.

"Ichigo, please, don't sharpen it too fast or you will break it again." Renji sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I know! But this pencil…just…keeps…BREAKING!" Ichigo screeched, sharpening his pencil harder. This causes the pencil to break once again.

_SNAP!!!  
_

"Darn it!" Ichigo tosses his broken pencil away and groans angrily in defeat. He lifts up his head when Rukia holds out a spare pencil to him.

"Here, take this. This one doesn't break easily. Hope you don't throw your tantrums again." Rukia said. Ichigo smiled and took the pencil.

"Thanks." Ichigo said. "And yeah, I got angry just because of a stupid pencil. What was I thinking?"

"Yeah, like the time when you go crazy over spilled milk." Orihime giggled. "I mean people usually cry over it, but go crazy over it?"

"Hey! Of course you go crazy when the glass of milk you're holding…it's freaking hot!" Ichigo snapped.

"Sorry, it's kinda funny you know."

"Oh, that's nothing. How about the time when Ichigo and I accidentally got trapped in the janitor's closet in school?" Renji laughed.

Ichigo widens his eyes in shock. "Oh no, please, not that Renji!"

"What? What happen?" Rukia asked as she and Orihime gave interested looks.

Ichigo slaps his face. 'Here it goes…' He thought.

"Well, when we accidentally tripped over and fell into the janitor's closet in school one day, I got covered in brooms and mops, while Ichigo was covered in buckets. One on his head, two on his hands and feet, and he was sitting in one---so one was stuck to his butt." Renji laughed silently. Rukia and Orihime burst out laughing when Ichigo shook his head in embarrassment.

"What happens next?" Rukia asked.

"Ichigo then started yelling," Renji flailed his arms wildly. "'AH! IT'S ALL DARK! I CAN'T SEE! I'M BLIND! NO!" Rukia and Orihime laughed harder. "'And there's something on my butt! Renji, I told you! I'm not gay!'"

Rukia and Orihime are now rolling on the floor laughing like a couple of hyenas as they heard the last sentence when Ichigo now completely covers his face with his hands. Rukia laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks while Orihime clutches her sides. 'Why Renji, why?!' He thought angrily.

"Yeah! And what happens next is that…" Renji tried to continue, but got cut off when Ichigo bangs his fist on the floor.

"ENOUGH!" Ichigo screamed, causing everyone to stop their laughing. Ichigo frowns angrily at his friends while Rukia, Renji and Orihime froze in fright. Then, a mischievous grin formed on Ichigo's face. "So, you guys think it's funny, huh?"

Then without warning, Ichigo tackled Rukia and starts tickling her stomach. "Aha! Now I gotcha! Tickle tickle tickle!" Ichigo laughed, while Rukia desperately tried to squirm her way out of his grip.

"Ack! Tee-hee! N-no! Hahaha! I-Ichigo, cut it out! Ha ha!" Rukia tried to plead through her incessant giggling. Ichigo just laughed as he redoubles his efforts.

"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!" Orihime yelled as she tackles Ichigo from behind.

"OOMPF!" Ichigo grunted as Orihime then tickles Ichigo's back. Ichigo laughed for a while, then while pinning Rukia down with one hand, Ichigo easily reached around his back, snagged Orihime by the arm, and plopped her unceremoniously besides Rukia.

"EEK!" Orihime squealed as Ichigo began give her the same Rukia was getting. "I take it back! I take it back! Help!"

"Ha ha! I'm invincible!" Ichigo laughed triumphantly as he had both Rukia and Orihime in his tickly grip. "You really think that you could take me on in here, on my home turf?" he joked. "I can take both of you on anytime! No one can stand up to Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"Aren't you forgetting somebody?" Renji asked from behind with a smirk. Ichigo turns around.

"Stay away, Renji! Just because you're slightly taller than me doesn't mean I won't take you down too!" Ichigo laughed, never ceasing his efforts on Orihime and Rukia, who were both practically screaming with laughter at this point.

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Renji chuckled, joining in on the fun as he grabbed Ichigo by the back of his collar and lifts him up.

"You'll never take me aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!" Ichigo screamed as he flailed his legs frantically.

"He's all yours! Go for it!" Renji laughed.

"Alright!" Rukia yelled as she and Orihime got up and tickle his ribs relentlessly.

"Ha! Who thinks this is funny now?" Orihime laughed as Ichigo laughs hysterically.

"AAA! Stoppit! Hahaha! No fair! No fair! Three on one advantage! Hahahaha! Stoppit, guys! Sto-"

"What's going on?" Another voice asked. Ichigo, Renji, Rukia and Orihime immediately stop what they were doing and turned to the source of the voice. The voice belongs to Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo's sister, who just entered the living room. Renji and Rukia chuckled nervously as Renji gently sets Ichigo down. She arched an eyebrow as she puts her hands on her hips.

"Oh hey sis, what's up?" Ichigo said, trying not to laugh.

"I was just about to say that dinner is ready. Would your friends like to join us?" Karin asked.

"Okay sure. Why not?" Renji shrugs. However, Rukia react unfavorably to this news. The instant she heard that, she turned to the clock of the living room and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in pure terror.

"Oh no! It's 5 o'clock already?!" Rukia panicked. She quickly pack her school bag and turns to the others. "I'm sorry guys, I can't stay any longer. I have to go!"

"What's the matter, Rukia? It's only 5 o'clock." Orihime said unhappily.

"Yeah, can't you at least stay for dinner?" Ichigo added.

"No, sorry. I got homework to do." Rukia protested.

"But we just did our homework together." Renji said. Rukia turned to the living room table, then turned back to her friends who all looked at her questioningly.

"Oh no! What I meant to say is that…" Rukia tries to think of something to say. "Oh yeah! I meant spring cleaning! I got spring cleaning to do at home! Bye!" She laughed nervously. Ichigo shrugged.

"Well, too bad you can't stay. But thanks for coming to my house today." Ichigo said.

"See you again tomorrow at school!" Orihime said happily.

"Yeah. Don't let your spring cleaning get the best out of you. Good luck!" Renji said encouragingly.

"See ya!" Rukia called back with a smile as she immediately head for the door and sprints out of the house. Once she exited the house however, the smile instantly vanished from her face as she slouched over unhappily. With a weary groan she turned to the right, walking oppositely away from her apartment and instead in the direction of downtown.

"Spring cleaning to do…pfft! Yeah right." She grumbled miserably. "I wish."

**END OF CHAPTER**

Ryo: There you have it. That's the first chapter. It's kinda light-hearted, but as the story progresses, the story becomes more angsty and darker. Stay tune for the next chapter and read and review! And apologies if the characters are sort of OOC (Shudders).


	2. Aizen

_**Chapter 2: Aizen**_

"Hello?" Rukia asked nervously. She took a deep breath and slowly enters a silent and filthy alley.

"Hello?" She called again. But once again, no response, just the sounds of the rush hour traffic nearby.

"It's me, Rukia! I'm here! Please? Any-OOF!" Before she could go any further, a hand seemingly came out of nowhere, grabbing Rukia roughly by her shirt, lifting her up off the ground and pressing her against the wall in one swift movement.

Rukia grunted in pain as she was slammed against rough brick wall, coming face-to-face with her assailant. Her attacker was a teenager with light blue hair and wears a black jacket, white shirt and black pants. His name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaques.

Grimmjow sneered angrily at Rukia and then shook her roughly. "You're late." He said with a growl. Rukia gave a hard gulp as she broke out into a nervous sweat.

"Grimmjow, please, I'm only seven mi-AACK!" Rukia gasped as Grimmjow wrapped one of his grimy hands around the girl's neck, cutting her off.

"Listen you little shit, you know the rules!" Grimmjow snarled. "When you come here, you come at the goddamn time we tell you to come here, got it? Dammit, you know I can't afford to hang around here too long, I could get caught! And if anything happens, you know who's gonna get the blame for it, right?" he said with a malicious smirk.

Rukia, her face beginning to turn a fine shade of purple, managed to nod weakly. With that, Grimmjow released his grip and let Rukia tumble to the pavement, gasping for breath. However, Rukia barely got much of a respite before she felt the sharp pain of Grimmjow kicking him roughly in the side.

"Hurry up man, what's your problem today? You know the drill!" Grimmjow yelled impatiently, eyes constantly darting about nervously.

Still desperately trying to catch her breath, Rukia quickly opened her backpack, taking out a wad of crumbled bills. Grimmjow quickly snatched these from Rukia's hand, stuffing them into one pocket of his pants while removing something from another pocket.

"Okay, that looks like enough, here you go, Rukia." He grunted, roughly handing her a plastic bag filled with pure, grade-A marijuana. Rukia shuddered involuntarily as she accepted the bag and quickly stuffed it into her backpack. Even after all the times she had done it before, she still never liked handling any of the goods. It just all felt so terribly wrong.

By the time she had finished zipping up, Grimmjow had already disappeared. Typical of course. Never wanting to be caught, he always disappeared the moment the sale was complete, leaving Rukia all alone in case they were ever spotted. It was all routine, of course. Nothing special, nothing that Rukia could really do anything about. She then ran off while rubbing her sore neck.

* * *

Rukia then arrived at an apartment building, which is of course not hers or Ichigo's. She came face to face with the door and sighed painfully. "Here we go again." She whispered.

She slowly reaches out her finger and presses the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door swung open from the inside. Rukia suddenly found herself grabbed roughly by her shirt again and dragged inside, while the door was closed again with a slam. Instantly Rukia felt someone rip off her backpack while she was unceremoniously tossed aside, hitting the floor with a thump.

A teenager dug furiously through Rukia's backpack. The teenager was dressed in a white jacket, white shirt and blue jeans. His name was Sosuke Aizen. For a few moments schoolbooks and paper rained through the air until Aizen found what he was looking for.

"Here we go." Aizen said triumphantly, pulling out the bag of weed, which he promptly opened to smell for a quick quality check. "Aw yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Good work Grimmjow, you done it again!"

Meanwhile, Rukia quickly crawled over to her backpack, trying to put back her schoolbooks and papers into her backpack and hoping to desperately escape Aizen's apartment without getting notice.

'If I'm lucky, Aizen won't noticed me and I'll quickly make my way out of here.' She thought.

Today was not her lucky day however as Aizen then quickly gives Rukia a massive kick in her stomach. With a squeal of agony she tumbled over onto her back, from where she was immediately grabbed by the shirt and for the second time that day found herself shoved against the wall like some bizarre decoration. Rukia flinched involuntarily, as Aizen looked her square in the eye.

"I got a phone call a few minutes ago." Aizen scowled, sounding very disappointed. "Grimmjow says you were late."

"No, Aizen, please!" Rukia pleaded desperately, knowing what was to come. "I-I just lost track of the time, that's all! P-please! You got your stuff! L-l-leave me alone!" she stuttered out.

"You know the goddamn rules!" Aizen bellowed, shaking Rukia roughly. "Why are you still getting it wrong? It's so fucking simple! Grimmjow gets the pot, I give you the money for the pot, we tell you where to go for the pot, you meet Grimmjow to get the pot, you get the pot and bring it right back to me. What the hell, Rukia?!"

"Aizen, please no! I-it was just a mistake! N-no! NO!" Rukia cried as a malicious look appeared in Aizen's eyes.

"You know the penalty for tardiness. Remember, Rukia?" Aizen said with an evil grin. Tears start to form in Rukia's eyes.

"Please…don't…not again…"

"Now, as I recall, Grimmjow says you were seven minutes late, sooooo…one!" Aizen yelled, slapping Rukia across the face.

"OW! Please, I'll do better, I promise!" Rukia sobbed.

"Two!" Aizen went on, ignoring Rukia's pleads and punches her in the shoulder. The sick countdown continued to go on, with every number equaling another punch, slap, or kick for Rukia, until finally…

"Seven!" Aizen bellowed, ending off with a well-aimed punch straight into Rukia's stomach. With that he carelessly dropped Rukia to the floor in a sobbing bundle.

"See, Rukia? Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Aizen said mockingly. Rukia was unable to respond, lying face down and doubled up in pain. Aizen let out a cruel laugh, bending down to speak to Rukia face to face.

"And remember Rukia, rule number one, we don't tell anyone about any of this, got it? Not your family, not your friends, not anyone at school, no one! Because if you do, then I'll get unhappy. And then Grimmjow will be unhappy, all our friends will be unhappy, and you'll be-"

"Dead meat." Rukia finished in a whisper. She remembered the stupid line.

"Good boy." Aizen laughed evilly. He grabs Rukia by the back of the collar, walks over to the door, opens the door and throws her out of his apartment. The poor girl hit onto the ground with a thump while Aizen slams the door behind her. Rukia just lays on the floor, sobbing silently.

* * *

At 8 o' clock at night, Rukia went back to her home. Of course, she was scolded by her parents for coming home late again. But Rukia remained silent, not wishing to tell her reasons to her parents why she was late.

Two hours later, 10 o' clock at night, although she had gone to bed an hour ago, Rukia was still unable to fall asleep. She rolled over with a wince, still feeling the effects from her earlier encounter with Aizen. Rukia groaned involuntarily in pain as she accidentally rolled onto a sore shoulder, quickly moving back to her original position.

She thought things had been bad before. Aizen and his gang were one of the most rowdiest gangs in school. Of course, the only things they were ever good at is getting into trouble, vandalize school property, break the rules and of course, get down with drugs.

At first, Aizen himself had to go down and meet with Grimmjow to get his pot, as his paranoid dealer friend a stickler for always wanting to do business in a secluded area but still not too far away from his own home. However though, about three weeks ago, he realized that he didn't need to buy his drugs himself and run the risk of getting caught by the police. Why do that when he can have someone to go out and retrieve his weed for him? So one day, he waited outside school, looking for an unfortunate victim to help him retrieve his drugs for him. And guess who the unlucky victim was? Yup, that victim was none other than Rukia.

Of course, some "rules" had to be set down to make sure Rukia doesn't blab out Aizen's secret to anyone. Also of course, these were followed by the "appropriate punishments" for the disobedience of any of those "rules."

That was basically the way things were. Since then, much of Rukia's life was now occupied by the same, sick routine. Once, twice, maybe three times a week, Aizen would hand him some money (where he got it from, Rukia refused to find out) and give her a time. Rukia would then go to the same, filthy alley, where if she didn't break any of the "rules," then she and the always overly-apprehensive dealer would make a relatively smooth transaction. Then, the girl would come to his apartment, Aizen would take the weed off of her instantly, toss her out of his home and slither off to his room, and a few days later the whole thing would start up again. Of course, even if he didn't cause any trouble, the teens always gave Rukia his usual share of punches and kicks, mainly just for the hell of it.

That was the way things were now. And the awful truth was, Rukia couldn't do a single thing about it. What was there that could be done? Go to her parents? No way. She knew full well that they had more than enough to do. Both of her parents are working as full time businessmen and they were at work most of the time, they were never at home enough to deal with or even realize what was going on in their children's lives.

What about her brother Byakuya? No way. Not him either. He is a university student and he is always busy with his studies. He doesn't have time to deal with Rukia either. Could Rukia tell anyone else then? Her teachers? Ichigo? Orihime? Renji? Forget about it.

From time and time again, she was reminded rather painfully what would happen if she tried to tell anyone what was going on. The bitter truth of what would happen to her was literally beaten into her almost every day. If she turned Grimmjow in, Aizen would beat her to a bloody pulp. If she turned Aizen in, Grimmjow would beat her to a bloody pulp. Even if managed to somehow turn both of them in, there were plenty other "friends" out there, of whom Rukia did not know at all but was absolutely sure they all knew who she was. It wouldn't matter if she got Aizen and Grimmjow busted, there was always the threat of those three or four other friends of Aizen out there involved in this whole little drug ring. Just a bunch of guys Rukia had no idea who they were, but they would still probably hunt her down like an animal and wouldn't think twice about torturing a little girl. How do you turn in people you've never even seen before?

Simple. You don't.

'This is it' Rukia realized somberly to herself. 'I'm trapped.'

**END OF CHAPTER**


	3. Concern

_**Chapter 3: Concern**_

Rukia peeked out nervously from the alley, looking up and down the street. No one on the sidewalk, and the streets were clear except for a couple cars who didn't seem to notice her wandering about downtown.

With a sigh of utter relief, Rukia crept out into the open and began to make her way back in the direction of Aizen's apartment.

"So far, so good." She whispered to herself. Of course, she remembered, there wasn't too much to worry about. Well, besides the fact that she was being used as a pawn in Aizen's quest for more drugs, at the moment things were working out pretty well. Of course, these Saturday morning runs were always the easiest. Her parents are usually gone by 7.30 AM while Byakuya is still asleep until nine, which meant that Rukia could meet Aizen in the alley by eight. When the sale was done, then Rukia could come to Aizen's home, slip it into his room (where the dumb ape would still be asleep until noon) and then she would be free to spend the rest of her day without any worry at all. Plus, of course, this early in the morning there was always the greatly reduced chance of being caught by anyone-

_RING RING!_

When Rukia heard the bicycle bell, she almost leapt up in the air with a horrified scream of surprise. Immediately she whirled about, her arms raised high above her head.

"AAAAAA! I didn't do anything! I didn-" she stopped in mid-sentence when she realized she wasn't facing a police officer. In reality, she was facing a certain orange-haired teenage boy with a concern look while riding on his bicycle.

"Rukia, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"Um…I well…um…" Rukia tried to think of an answer.

"Oh, I know what's going on." Ichigo said with a smirk, almost accusingly. Rukia gulped nervously. He knows what's she doing. It's all over…

"Morning errands suck, huh?" Ichigo laughed. Rukia blew out a huge sigh. For a moment, she thought Ichigo finally realizes what she was doing secretly from him, Renji and Orihime. "So, what did your parents ask you to buy? A huge loaf of bread? Cereal? Milk?"

Rukia chuckled nervously. "Yeah, just some milk, that's all."

"Cool. Lucky for you. My father found that there was absolutely NO cereal and rice left in kitchen. So my father woke me up half an hour ago and immediately asks me to cycle all the way to the grocery store to buy them." Ichigo gestures the box of cereal and the huge bag of rice in his bicycle's basket. Rukia chuckled, making Ichigo smile warmly.

"Well, c'mon. Don't just stand there! Hop on the back of my bicycle. I'll ride you back to your home." Ichigo said, motioning Rukia to ride on the back of his bicycle.

"Yeah sure!" Rukia replied gratefully. She then walks over to Ichigo's bicycle but she stops in her tracks when she realizes what she was suppose to do in the first place. "No wait! I can't!"

"Why not?" Ichigo asked quizzically.

"No Ichigo. It's okay. There's no need for you to take me back home! I can always walk back home myself!" Rukia pleaded. Being late to pick up the goods from Grimmjow was bad enough, but Rukia knew very well that if she failed to drop off the goods at Aizen's home on time, the repercussions for that particular violation would be _ten times_ worse. Also, if she is ever caught hanging out with any of her friends, the consequences will be _even bigger_. As she broke out into a panicked sweat, Ichigo began to feel a little unnerved by Rukia's frantic behavior.

"Why, I thought you said you bought some milk. Of course milk needs to be stored in the fridge immediately, so hop on my bicycle and I'll take you back to your home in a jiffy."

"No, Ichigo, it's okay. I just want-"

"Come on Rukia. Don't worry. I promise I'll cycle carefully while you're at my back."

"No Ichigo! It's alright! Just go already!"

"What's wrong with you Rukia? I can just take you home and-"

"ICHIGO I CAN JUST WALK BACK HOME MYSELF!" Rukia involuntarily shrieked.

For a few seconds, both Ichigo and Rukia just stared at each other, equally shocked by the outburst. Finally, Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, fine. Suit yourself." With that, Ichigo grabs his bicycle handlebars, cycles away from Rukia and makes his way back to his home. After Ichigo cycled ten feet away from Rukia, she blew out a sigh of relief. Thank god he's finally leaving.

* * *

Ichigo enters his home while carrying the box of cereal and sack of rice in his hands. As he enters, he sees his father, Isshin, walking down the stairs while putting on his black suit.

"Hi dad. I got the cereal and rice." Ichigo said to Isshin.

"Oh good. Place them in the kitchen. I'm going to work now so stay at home and take care of Karin and Yuzu." Isshin said, now buttoning up his collar.

"Okay." Ichigo walks his way to the kitchen while Isshin picks up his briefcase and walks out of the house.

After Ichigo enters the kitchen, he places the cereal box and sack of rice onto the dining table. After that, he just stood that, pondering about Rukia.

Something's not right. Something was wrong with Rukia. But even worse, Ichigo realized unhappily, this wasn't something new to him, not at all. Always the observant one, he had been noticing an obvious change that had been taking place in Rukia for a few _weeks_ now.

When she first began showing signs of odd behavior, Ichigo had just brushed it off as maybe a little problem at home or school that probably wasn't his business and would blow over in a few days or so. However, as those "few days" stretched out into a couple days, and then finally into weeks with still no sign of recovery in sight, he realized he had been wrong, very wrong with that assumption. Rukia was not improving, and if anything, after that whole episode downtown that morning, her plight was only growing at a pace Ichigo could barely comprehend. All the signs were pointing to the same fact: whatever this thing was, it was something he couldn't ignore anymore.

First of all, every time when Ichigo's friends come over to his home and do their homework together, Rukia is always the first to leave his home at 5 PM. Renji and Orihime only leave his home at 6.30 or 7 PM. But Rukia is always the one who leaves his home early, always telling him and his friends that the reason she has to leave early is because of spring cleaning to do at home. This is of course the biggest lie Ichigo has ever heard. Why would the parents ask their children to do the house cleaning for them? Are Rukia's parents too lazy to do the house cleaning themselves? Are they treating her like Cinderella or something? Some parents she has. And besides, he knows that her parents always come home from work at 4.45 PM so it is completely impossible that Rukia has to help her parents clean up the home. It was obvious that every time Rukia brought up that house cleaning excuse, she was using it as a lame cover-up for something else. But what?

Whatever it was, it didn't seem good. Ichigo deduced this from the peculiar change in behavior that he noticed had taken place in Rukia over the past weeks. What happened to the happy little girl of joy and enthusiasm who always showed up at school with a grin every week day at 7 in the morning? Rukia seemed to have unexpectedly developed an extreme case of paranoia overnight. She was now jumpy and nervous all the time, constantly checking her watch, always acting like someone was going to leap out and attack her. Now, whenever Rukia acted like...well, Rukia, those occurrences were now extremely rare if anything. What was wrong? The poor girl wasn't even able to handle that friendly bicycle bell ring he gave her that morning, he could've sworn Rukia would've leapt clear out of her skin if she could.

Speaking of that, just what in the world _was_ she doing downtown anyway that early in the morning?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Ichigo grumbled as he smacked himself angrily on the forehead. Why the hell did he think she was making a run to the grocery store? He saw her dart out of the alleyway near the pharmacy, which was at least _five blocks_ opposite of the supermarket! Just what was really going on there? It was all too clear she wasn't there to pick up a prescription. Something ugly was going on.

'_Scratch that'_, He realized with a groan. Something _definitely_ very ugly that was going on, Ichigo thought as he contemplated the fourth and most unpleasant piece of evidence. Whatever was happening to Rukia, foul play was definitely playing a major role in it.

During the past few weeks, Rukia had definitely been showing up everyday at school with bumps, cuts and bruises all over her body. And when he, Renji or Orihime asks her how did she get the injuries, she would say that she got it from some game of soccer or a tennis match. But if Ichigo could remember, two weeks ago, Rukia did admit to him, Renji and Orihime that her least favorite lesson in school in _physical education. _So clearly, she doesn't like playing sports at all. What's going on? Why is she lying to her friends? And why is this happening to her? Is someone bullying her at school? And why would her bullies be so diabolical? Why are they trying to turn her into a bloody pulp? What did she ever do in school besides being attentive in class and acting friendly to other students and teachers?

Ichigo narrows his eyes and irritably slams his fist onto the table. Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong. And Ichigo _must_ know what it is…

* * *

Rukia shuddered violently as she went over the day's events. That was close. Too close. And by the looks of things, she wasn't out of the clear yet. Ichigo was definitely on to her. She knew that he was beginning to see through it all. The going home to do cleaning bit, all her excuses for her cuts and bruises, he definitely wasn't buying any of that. What was with him lately? It was like someone hired him to act as her own private interrogator. He asked her about every bump, every scratch, why she was leaving every time she went for the door, Christ! Couldn't he just leave her alone? No one could know! The results would_ literally_ be disastrous for her. However, it wasn't going to stay that way if Ichigo kept bugging her with questions every time she goes to school of she and her friends gather at his home. Why did he always have to stick his nose into her business?

Anyways, once again, she stood in front of the door of Aizen's home. She slowly opens the door and enters the apartment.

Barely three seconds later after entering, once again, she found herself in an all-too familiar position. Pressed hard against the living-room wall, Rukia came face to face with a furious-looking Aizen.

"What the fuck, Rukia?" Aizen yelled angrily. "_What_…_the_…_hell_…_happened_…_today_?" he demanded, shaking Rukia violently to emphasize every word.

"What? I didn't do anything! Everything was fine! You got your stuff! You got your stuff!" Rukia cried, trying to wriggle out of Aizen's firm grasp.

"Lyin' little bitch!" Aizen roared, smacking the girl hard against the wall. "That's not what Grimmjow told me. What did you tell him?" he demanded angrily.

"Tell who what? Please, I didn't tell anyone anyt-OW!" Rukia cried in pain as Aizen slapped her hard against her face.

"Don't screw with me, asshole! Grimmjow told me everything that happened this morning. He told me that right after you got the weed, he saw you with that orange-haired friend of yours!" he accused, giving Rukia another hard slap to the face. "You told him, didn't you! Ichigo, that's his name, right?! Squealer! Why I oughta…"

"Please Aizen no! ICHIGO DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Rukia screamed before going silent, eyes wide open in horror. Aizen continued to glare at the horrified girl for a few more seconds, until finally he grins evilly at her.

"Good girl, I knew you wouldn't let me down." Aizen laughed evilly. He loosened his hold on Rukia's shirt, causing her to tumble to the floor with a loud thump. As Rukia tried to cover up the beginnings of a nosebleed, Aizen knelt down and roughly shoved a small bag into Rukia's lap.

"All right Rukia, listen up! Grimmjow's gonna get in a big shipment in a day or two, some real high-class stuff. I'm gonna have some friends over so we can try it out. That is, after you pick it up for us, of course." Aizen explained to Rukia. "Now, there's like a hundred bucks in there, and we all chipped in for this. This is a big pick up, so don't fuck this one up, okay?"

Rukia could only nod, trying to clot the blood that now streamed furiously from her nose.

"Oh yeah, one more thing." Aizen added with an evil grin. "Just a reminder, if you think you ever _can_ tell anyone about this, especially anyone at school…" Aizen cracked his knuckles loudly.

Rukia could only sob once in horror as her tormentor advanced upon her.

**END OF CHAPTER**

Ryo: This story sure is getting darker, isn't it? Anyways, at least Ichigo is now concerned about Rukia and wondering what's going on with her. Next chapter coming soon so read and review!


	4. Anger

_**Chapter 4: Anger**_

2 days later, it was a Monday. Rukia and the other students arrived at the school at 7.45 AM. Rukia was taking out some of her books out from her locker. After grabbing her maths and science textbooks, she closed the locker and was about to head to class until Ichigo walked up to her.

"Hey Rukia." Ichigo said. Rukia turned to him and smiled.

"Oh hey Ichigo. What's up? Look, about me yelling at you a few days ago, I'm sorry. But I really know how to walk back home by myself." Rukia said sheepishly.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry that I kept insisting you." Ichigo said.

"No problem." Rukia grins. Just then, the bell rings and the other students quickly head to their respective classrooms. "Well, what do you know? The bell is out. Guess we better head to class now."

However, before Rukia could walk forward and head to her class, Ichigo took one step sideways, blocking Rukia's path. Ichigo took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Well, here they were, together and alone. It was either now or never.

Rukia began to grow apprehensive. "Uh, Ichigo? Could you kinda move a bit? We kind of gotta go to class now." she chuckled nervously

"Not until you and me have a talk." Ichigo replied flatly as everybody have went to their classrooms. The school hallways are now deserted and only Ichigo and Rukia are alone at the hallways.

Rukia then suddenly realized by the serious look on his face that Ichigo wasn't joking around any more. 'What in the world is he doing?' she thought worriedly. 'Oh God, no! If he's found out, Aizen would...'

"Talk? Talk about what? There's nothing to talk about!" Rukia said defensively. "I'm just fine! Everything's okay-"

Ichigo shook his head sadly. "Rukia, please. I've been watching you a lot lately. Something's going on, I know. Just calm down, and tell me-"

"Ichigo, nothing's wrong!" Rukia snapped, slowly backing off. "Please, we really need to go to class-"

"Rukia, it's okay! I just want-" Ichigo stopped as soon as he noticed the peculiar way Rukia was moving as she tried to slink off. With every step she took backwards, one leg wobbled unnaturally.

"What's that?" Ichigo demanded, jabbing his finger at the anomaly.

"Nothing!" Rukia replied hastily.

"You're limping."

"No, no I'm not!"

"Rukia, for God's sake, you can barely stand on that thing!" Ichigo cried out in horror.

"No, it's okay, see? I'm just fin-HEY!" Rukia protested loudly as Ichigo quickly grabs her by the arm and examines her leg, making her drop her books onto the floor in the process. Immediately, the panicked Rukia began to wrestle desperately from his grip, yelling loudly in protest. "No, Ichigo, no! I'm fine! I'm fine! Please, let go! I'm okay! Ichigo!"

"Aha!" Ichigo cried in triumph, pointing the massive black and blue bruise on Rukia's left leg. A few seconds later, Rukia finally breaks free of Ichigo's grip and backs away from him. "Just fine my ass! What was that? What was _that_?" Ichigo yelled, pointing accusingly at Rukia.

"Accident." Rukia replied lamely, choosing to look down at the floor rather than make eye contact.

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo said, raising an eyebrow. "Really? What kind of accident?"

"Um, er, Renji and I, we were playing basketball yesterday, and he-"

"Rukia." Ichigo interrupted. "Yesterday, Renji and I were hanging out together at the shopping mall for the WHOLE of Sunday."

"No wait, Ichigo, uh, I just remembered!" Rukia sputtered. "Uh, it wasn't with Renji, me and Orihi-"

"Rukia, will you knock it off already? Please, you don't need to lie to me!"

"I wasn't lying!" Rukia protested angrily, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Rukia, c'mon! It's me! You can tell me what's going on!"

"Ichigo, no! I said it before, nothing's wrong!"

"Is someone bullying you? Did they threaten you? I can deal with those jerks for you!"

"Will you please just-"

"Rukia, please. Tell me who they are."

"Ichigo, I-"

"It's going to be okay, if you'll just-"

Ichigo's constant barrage of questions was just too much. Rukia, who had already been on the edge for days, just couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't suppress the frenzy of emotions that raged about inside her much longer; the anger she felt at Aizen and his lousy friends. The fury she felt at being used constantly as a tool. The pure vehemence she felt at it all just because she felt so utterly helpless to do anything about any of what was happening. And, once the irritation she felt at Ichigo right now was added to the mix, it was just too much for her to hold down any longer. Rukia just couldn't withstand the pressure anymore, she...she...

Rukia cracked. It was just too much. Suddenly, she erupted full blast, a deadly mixture of rage and frustration spewing forth, ready to engulf anyone in its path. And there was only one other person present it could be directed upon...

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ICHIGO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Instantly Ichigo went silent, almost shocked beyond the ability to speak.

"Wha-what?" Ichigo replied, stunned.

"You heard me!" Rukia continued to yell, hot tears of rage streaming down her face. "Shut up, just shut the fucking hell up Ichigo! What the hell is your problem? Why do you have to make it your business to stick your damn nose in my life whenever you feel like it? Just who the hell do you think you are? News flash, Ichigo; YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER! You're just a 15-year old punk who has no relation to my family! So why the hell is my life suddenly your business? I can do things on my own! I don't need some orange headed weirdo barging into my life whenever he feels like it!"

"R-Rukia?" Ichigo managed to say.

"JUST STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY LIFE!" Rukia screeched, ending her screams with a hoarse sob.

For a few moments, all Ichigo could do was stand stock still, as if the outburst had completely petrified him. Slowly however, his face began to distort from a look of shock to one of ugly rage and betrayal. Lifting an accusing finger, shaking with anger, he finally regained his ability to speak, which he immediately used to let lose his own full fury.

"So…that's it? THAT'S IT? FINE! Why the hell am I wasting my time with you, anyway? I don't need you either! What the fuck do I want with a puny little girl like you?! You know what, what do I care about you? You're just some snobby little brat who always come to my house and ask me to help you with your homework just because you are a stupid dumbass girl who has poor grades and always failing her exams. So just get out of my sight! Go somewhere where I don't give a horse shit! Just go away! I just don't give a damn! Keep your goddamn life, just KEEP ME OUT OF IT!" Ichigo screamed as he unsuccessfully tried to fight back the tears that pooled up in his own eyes.

"That's it, I'm outta here!" Rukia yelled, grabbing her books from the floor, putting them back into her locker and grabs her school bag. "Oh, and don't go crazy if your pencil breaks again, jerk!" she cried, before running off and head towards the school doors. Ichigo furiously called out after her.

"Ha ha, very funny! Well you know what? That algebra equation which I gave you to solve question number 9 a few days ago? Well, guess what? I found out it was WRONG!"

Rukia then left the school and slams the school doors behind her, closing it so hard it almost flew right off it's hinges. Ichigo then kneeld down on the floor and closes his eyes with a whimper.

'What the hell? What the hell just happened?' he thought bewilderedly. 'All I wanted to do was help her out, and she just blew up on me! Why...why did...' As he remembered all the hateful things Rukia said earlier, his tears of sadness quickly transformed to tears of pure rage. 'Punk? She called me a punk?! Why that little...fine! Fine! If that little brat wants to do whatever the hell she wants, then fine! What do I care, anyway? I was right to tell her off! Why do I even let her hang around me? I don't need her! I don't-'

Suddenly, the hall monitor, Keigo Asano, walks over to Ichigo while looking extremely flustered. "What on earth is going on here?! What's with the yelling and screaming?! You know precisely well that-"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" Ichigo demanded with a shriek as he angrily turned to him.

"AAAAAAAAA!!! Carry on!" Keigo said in fright, quickly whirling around and runs off in his fastest. Once he was gone, the classroom doors open and the students and teachers step out of the classrooms and stare at Ichigo in confusion while Ichigo buried his face in his hands and silently wept.

**END OF CHAPTER**

Ryo: Oh wow. I guess you guys weren't expecting that, huh?

Ichigo: Why did you yell at me, Rukia?! I'm hurt!

Ryo: Next chapter coming soon, so read and review!


	5. Guardian

_**Chapter 5: **__**Guardian**_

Rukia sat fuming angrily behind a tree in the park in a blind rage. Stupid Ichigo. What did he know? Trying to baby her the second she tried to head to class, always trying to pry into her business when he could, especially the stuff she wanted to keep secret the most. Dammit, didn't he ever know when to stop?

Rukia was tired of it all. Tired of being told what to do. Tired of being pushed around by everyone bigger and older than she was. It was bad enough with Aizen and Grimmjow making her life a living hell almost every day. But now, after Ichigo's constant intrusions culminating with what had happened a few hours ago, Rukia felt like she had just been pushed over the edge completely. Was this it? Was this the way things were going to be? Was she just going to let every jerk boss her around and tell her what to do, every single day, for the rest of her life?

No.

Rukia's fists almost turned white as she clenched them so tightly in blind fury. Not any more. This was it. She felt as if she had been pushed completely to her limit. At that very moment didn't care about all the threats, all the warning beatings, everything. She just couldn't take it anymore. Rukia was just too angry, just so angry at everything right now she just didn't care. Enough was enough. With a look of furious determination, Rukia stood up and started racing off downtown, pumping her legs furiously. This was it.

She'd show Ichigo who could take care of who. She'd show Aizen who she really was. She'd show them. She'd show them all.

* * *

Grimmjow glanced about as he restlessly paced up and down the alley. God, where was that girl? She knew better than that to show up late, especially when a big shipment came in!

Grimmjow suddenly gasped in fright and threw himself against the wall as he heard the wail of a nearby police siren. Much to his relief though, the noise quickly faded away, meaning the car had passed on by. Well, so far so good. Still, he was becoming more and more anxious with every passing second. Clenching his teeth and cracking his knuckles, Grimmjow decided that if Rukia wasn't showing up soon, then it would probably be time for another little "talk" to remind her how things worked around here.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps nearby. Grimmjow looked up in shock, ready to make a run for it. However, much to his relief he quickly recognized Rukia making her way down the alley.

"Christ Rukia, what the hell took you so long? God damn it, you know what happens when you show up late?!" Grimmjow growled angrily, shaking her fist. "You little punk! Did you know what I oughta do to you?"

Rukia said nothing. She just narrowed her eyes at Grimmjow, completely unintimidated.

'Jesus, that's weird.'Grimmjow thought. Usually during the transactions, Rukia always acted like she was about to wet herself in panic. What was her deal?

No, no time for that. Normally, he wouldn't take this chance to smack the leaving snot out of Rukia, but Grimmjow had already been waiting too long. He just wanted to make the sale and get the hell out of there. He'd enforce the "rules" next time.

"Okay Rukia, let's just do this. Here's the stuff, just take it and give me-"

"No." Rukia interrupted flatly.

Grimmjow looked up at her in shock. "What?"

"You heard me." Rukia said again in the same flat tone.

Grimmjow gritted his teeth angrily. He just wanted to leave. NOW. "Dammit Rukia, I got no time for games! Just take the stuff!" he grunted, shoving a large bag of pot into Rukia's hands. While the dealer waited impatiently, Rukia just coolly looked over the sack in her hands, as if she had just forgotten what to do next. Grimmjow was rapidly losing his patience.

"C'mon, let's go! Let's go! You know what happens next! Just hand over the-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Rukia suddenly ripped the bag open with a savage tearing movement. Before the stunned teen could react in any way, Rukia quickly went over to a nearby dumpster and dumped the bag's contents into it, all the time with a look of furious determination on his face. By the time Grimmjow was able to contemplate what was going on, the entire bag had been completely emptied.

"Rukia…WHAT THE HELL?" Grimmjow cried in dismay. Rukia looked at him square in the eyes as she tossed the empty bag.

"Go find yourself someone else to deliver your damn drugs. I quit." Rukia replied furiously. And with that the girl turned around and made her way out of the alley.

Or at least that's Rukia wanted to. Unfortunately, plans never work out they way you want them to, especially ones that are thought up of in a second in the midst of a blind fury. She only took two steps before she was savagely tackled onto the pavement. With an angry yell, Grimmjow picked up Rukia and tossed her head first into a bunch of garbage cans.

As soon as her head hit the metal cans, all of her blind rage vanished in an instant as she fully realized what she had actually just done. However, before she could bemoan the fact that she didn't pay more attention to her common sense, Grimmjow snatched the girl by her shirt collar and lifted her up so the were face-to-face.

"YOU BITCH! Do you have any clue how much pot you just trashed?! Jesus, what the hell is the matter with you?!"

"I-I, I-I-I j-just t-thought-" Rukia desperately tried to explain as she slowly realized the full consequences of her actions. Grimmjow silenced her with a smack on the head.

"Godammit, do you have any idea what you've done?! Oh God, this is it! Now you're done it, you no good slut! You're asking for it now!" Grimmjow fumed. Keeping Rukia pinned up with one hand, he took out his cell phone with the other and made a call.

"W-what are you going to do?" Rukia asked, barely unable to speak above a terrified whisper.

"Hey, Aizen? Yeah, we got a problem here. Listen, don't ask, just grab the guys and bring them here. It seems that it's time for you and Rukia to have a little "talk"..."

* * *

Ichigo fumes angrily as he quietly does his homework on a table in the detention room. He's not only still angry about Rukia's outburst earlier, but he's also angry that he has been given detention for yelling his voice throughout the school hallways and yelling at the school's hall monitor.

'Stupid! Just stupid! Can this day get any worse?!' Ichigo though angrily. Just then, he didn't realize that he's writing with his pencil so hard that the pencil breaks. "Dammit!" He said as he tosses the pencil away angrily.

He rests his head on the table in frustration. Stupid Rukia. Who does she think she is? Yelling at him like that? And why did she call him a punk? Isn't she Ichigo's friend? Why would a friend say that to another friend? Some friend she is. For some reason, even after her unexpected outburst, Ichigo still couldn't stop thinking about her.

'Oh, give it a rest, Ichigo! She isn't your friend anymore, so why are you still thinking about her?' Ichigo thought furiously.

Just then, Ichigo looks up when he heard someone else entering the detention room.

"Orihime?" He asked.

"Oh hey Kurosaki-san! Your outburst today still really shocks me." Orihime said as she walks over to a table near Ichigo.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Anyways, have you seen Rukia? She isn't in class all day."

"She's not here. I don't want to see her." Ichigo replied flatly.

"Oh, what a shame." Orihime sighed. "What happen to her?"

"She left early." Ichigo replied again flatly. "anyways, what did you do to get yourself into trouble."

"Nah, I forgot to bring my science report to school. That's all."

"Bummer."

"Anyways, I was really hoping to see you and Rukia together today. It's so nice that she has you." Orihime smiled.

"What?" Ichigo said dumbfounded as he lifts his head up from his table. What is she talking about?

"Oh come on Ichigo, don't hide it. You know what I'm talking about." Orihime giggled. "You two look so cute together. What with her overworked family, it's so nice to see that she's got at least s_omeone_ to look out for her…"

"Uh, Orihime, I don't think-" but before Ichigo could protest any further, Orihime simply continued to ramble on.

"All those times you've cycled her home from school or something because her parents were too busy working, those moments I've found you helping her with her homework or on a school project in the school library, the laughter I always hear whenever she's hanging out with you, oh my!" Orihime chuckled. "Oh, all the good times you must have together."

Ichigo still struggled to find some kind of retort. "No, Orihime, I...uh...you see, this morning-"

"Ha, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like you are her guardian or her older brother or something." Orihime smiled. Ichigo went momentarily silent as he contemplated Orihime's words.

"Wait…brother…." Ichigo said puzzled.

Orihime gave Ichigo an affectionate pat on his back.

"It's just nice that he has you to look up to. That's all." Orihime said. She giggled as she now changes the subject. "Anyways, do you know what happen at my biology class today? When we are trying to experiment on a frog, Uryu and I-"

Ichigo didn't listen to what Orihime is trying to say to him as he thought about what she had just said to him. 'Wait…is Orihime…really telling the truth?'

He quickly searches all the memories he and Rukia had together in his brain. All those cycling trips to drop Rukia off at home after school. All the times when he and Rukia do their homework together at the school library. All those times he hangs out with her at the mall, or the café, or the park, or whatever. How whenever she needed something, she always came to _him_. And how every time, he would be more than happy to do whatever it was for _her._

Orihime spoke the truth. Rukia really was special to him, and Ichigo knew it, deep in his heart. He was more than a friend to Rukia, he was like a...a...

"A guardian." Ichigo spoke up. "You're right."

"...And then the class had to revive Uryu from his shock and-eh? What's that?" Orihime asked.

"You're right, Orihime, you're totally right!" Ichigo cried excitedly as he stands up from his seat. "I do, wait, I mean Rukia needs, uh, hold on…"

Orihime gave Ichigo a concern look. "Ichigo, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, wait…no, I mean…uh…I gotta give Rukia a call!" Ichigo sputtered as he reached into his pocket to grab for his cell phone. Whipping it out, he quickly calls Rukia's cell phone number and hopes that she would forgive him for yelling at her earlier today. He then puts his cell phone to his ear…but to his shock, the phone couldn't reach her.

"We're sorry, the number you have reached is unavailable. Please, try again later." The voice said in Ichigo's phone. Ichigo widens his eyes in shock.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Orihime asked in concern. Ichigo couldn't believe it. Rukia isn't answering, but why?

And deep down in his heart, he felt that as if…as if…

"Rukia is in danger." He said in horror.

"What?" Orihime said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Orihime, what time is it?" Ichigo asked his friend worriedly.

Orihime shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, I think it's a little after five."

"Five o'clock…Rukia's been leaving around that time a lot….but I know it's not for home…but…" suddenly, it dawned on him.

"I got to go!" Ichigo cried frantically. He quickly runs his way over to the room door and runs out of the detention room.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried as she stood up from her seat. "Where are you going?! Detention isn't over yet!"

Ichigo ignored orihime and continues running towards the school doors. "Hang on Rukia!" He cried. "JUST HANG OOOOOONNN!!!"

**END OF CHAPTER**

Ryo: Can Ichigo get to Rukia in time?! Stay tune and read and review! (And yeah, that's all I can say…)


	6. Love

_**Chapter 6: Love**_

"Woohoo, c'mon Tosen!"

_CLANG!_

"Yeah, that was a good one!"

"Me next, me next!"

_CRASH!_

"Over here! Over here!"

Grimmjow, Aizen and four other teenagers named Tosen, Gin, Yammy and Szayel hooted rambunctiously as they took turns kicking a beat-up garbage can around the alley. At first sight, it just seemed like a bunch of hooligans with nothing better to do. However, after they all got in a few more good kicks, Aizen motioned for them to stop. When the game was over, Aizen set the garbage can back up, knocked off the top, reached in…and hauled out one dirty, aching, terrified teenage girl.

Rukia gasped for air as Aizen hung her in the air by the back of her shirt for his gawking friends, like some sick trophy. Rukia immediately tried to rub off the rancid-smelling garbage that now stuck all over him, a spectacle that was only greeted by more howls and jeers from the mob.

Rukia mentally berated herself as she removed a rotten piece of something undistinguishable from her hair. What was wrong with her? How could she have been so stupid? Rukia cursed herself for letting blind rage for getting the best of her. Marching off to Aizen's friend and supplier, staring him right in the face, and completely trashing over a hundred dollars worth of drugs? Come on! What in the world made her think that was a good idea? What did she expect these punks to do? Leave her alone, just because she finally stood up for herself? Just because she was a little mad and thought she had enough?

Not these guys. Bad mistake. Really, really bad mistake.

"Sooooo, you had enough, Tough Girl? Or do you need a little while more in time out?" Aizen smirked evilly, pointing back at the trash can. Rukia did not reply. All she could do was stare back, face distorted into a bizarre mix of fear for her life and utter hate for Aizen. Aizen clucked disapprovingly.

"Tch, tch tch, have you forgotten everything I've taught you? Well, maybe THIS will jog your memory!"

Aizen laughed maliciously, giving Rukia a swift punch to the gut. Rukia gasped in pain and bit down hard on her lower lip, doing everything in her power not to cry out. Unfortunately however, she was unable to keep back the tears that welled up in her eyes, causing Aizen to grin in sick satisfaction.

"Awwww, what's the matter? Is baby upset I was being reawy mean? Does the baby want her mommy? Huh? Is she gonna cwy about it? Cry baby, cry!" Aizen laughed. Hot tears rolled down from Rukia's cheeks while Grimmjow and the others cheered in triumph. Aizen chuckled as he pins the sobbing Rukia against the wall.

"Okay, bitch, fun time's over! It's time we stopped horsin' around and really got down to business." Aizen said, snickering at his little joke. "Sorry man, but you know the basic rule; step out of line, and pay the price. And if our friend Grimmjow here is right about the stunt you pulled off today, we got a way to go before we've settled this. You ready?" he sneered.

Rukia stared back at Aizen with tearstained eyes. Still weeping uncontrollably, she managed to say out, "I…hate…you."

Aizen responded by throwing back his head with a cruel laugh. "What was that, little girl? You hate me? Oh no! Oh, boohoo! Look guys, she hates me! Oh, woe is me, woe is me!" Aizen cackled sarcastically while his cronies laughed insanely. Aizen grinned malevolently.

"You think it really matters to me what you think, bud? Well, you know what?" He leaned in closer to Rukia and whispered cruelly. "I don't care."

Rukia could only let out another hoarse sob. Aizen laughed, taking malicious pleasure out of the torment his 'slave' was going through. "I don't care what you think, I don't care! None of the guys here care, your family is too busy to care, that's the way it is! You gotta understand this, little slut; we don't care. Nobody cares about you. And you know what?" he ask, leaning in close. "No one's ever gonna care, you little shit". He whispered diabolically.

Rukia hung her head in defeat. Aizen spoke nothing but the honest truth. She had tried to stand up for herself, she failed miserably, and now no one was going to care what kind of horrible fate she was about to suffer. With one last sob she shut her eyes tightly, preparing for the worse. With a vicious laugh, Aizen clenched one of his hands into a fist, pulled back, and.…

Aizen halted in mid-punch at the sound of a bicycle bell ringing. All six turned their heads in surprise as a familiar teenage boy arrived at the alley. As soon as he arrived, he tosses his bicycle aside and walks over to Aizen furiously while cracking his knuckles loudly.

"What the-"

Aizen was cut off quickly by the fist that came crashing straight into his mouth. Instantly he was sent stumbling backward, dropping Rukia in the process. Rukia, who had been expecting to get hit herself, was quite surprised when she suddenly felt herself fall to the pavement. Lying on the ground, her eyes snapped back open, utterly perplexed about what just happened. However, before she could think any further, her eyes suddenly came in contact with a pair of extremely familiar black shoes as someone took their (well, his) place in front her.

Ichigo placed himself squarely between Rukia and the teens, shielding his friend from the others with his own body. Breathing hard, fists tightly clenched, and fire burning in his eyes, Ichigo stared them all down boldly as he gets into a fighting stance.

"Leave…her…ALONE." He growled, his voice filled with rage.

The teenagers stared at him dumbfounded for a moment. Then, Grimmjow grits his teeth and narrows his eyes as he immediately charges toward Ichigo.

"You stupid ass-"

Before Grimmjow could finish speaking, Ichigo immediately jumps in the air and kicks him hard in the face. Instantly Grimmjow was sent sprawling to the ground, all the fight knocked out of him with one blow. Again the other teenagers stood shock still. At last though, Aizen, who had managed to recover, jabbed his finger at Ichigo and bellowed angrily "Don't just stand there, assholes! GET HIM!"

At his urging, the other four boys yelled savagely as they made a mad dash at Ichigo. Ichigo, never leaving his place in front of Rukia, continued to silently stand still as the teenagers rapidly advanced.

When Gin gets close enough to Ichigo, Ichigo immediately punches him in the side of his jaw with a resounding crack. Gin was then sent sprawling through the ground and went unconscious within a few seconds.

Tosen dashes over to Ichigo while yelling madly. But Ichigo immediately jumps in the air again and kicks Tosen hard in the stomach. Tosen stumbles onto the ground backwards and went unconscious within a few seconds as well.

"Take this, you asshole!" Yammy cried, brandishing a metal pipe he plucked from the ground. With a ferocious scream he charged, swinging his weapon wildly. However, the instant he was less than two feet from Ichigo…

_THWACK!_

Everyone present cringed as they heard the sickening noise of Ichigo's feet scoring a direct hit into Yammy's crotch. Once he removed his foot, Yammy gave out an extremely high-pitched groan before he fell over like a bag of cement. Ichigo then looked up at Szayel standing, who had as of yet failed to move. Ichigo smirked at him as he cracked his knuckles again.

That was all he needed. Instantaneously Szayel turned around and sped off, running as fast as he can and wanting nothing more than to run away from the ferocious orange-haired demon.

Ichigo then watched Tosen, Gin and Yammy regaining their consciousness. The three looked up at Ichigo and yelp. They immediately run out of the alley and followed after Szayel. Ichigo watches them run away with satisfaction. But suddenly, he remembered why he came here in the first place. With a mixed look of horror and concern, he turned around and sees Rukia still lay curled up on the cold pavement.

"Oh my God, Rukia!" Ichigo cried, dropping to his knees and gently taking Rukia by the shoulders. "Rukia? Are you okay?"

Rukia just stared right back at him, caught in a state of dumb shock. As she failed to respond, Ichigo began to grow frantic. "Oh God, Rukia, speak to me! Please, say something! Anything! Please! Are you all right? What happened? It's okay! Anything will do!" Ichigo cried, rapidly growing close to becoming hysterical.

Finally though, after what seemed like an agonizingly long period of time, Rukia slowly and wordlessly raised her arm in the air. Ichigo turned around and saw that she was pointing in the general direction of Grimmjow, who groaned in pain as he continued to remain completely incapacitated from his failed assault earlier.

"What? Him? Does he know something?" Do you want me to get him to say something? Why…" Ichigo then realized that Rukia had lowered her arm a bit to now point more specifically to Grimmjow's pants.

"What? The pants? Does he have something I need to see?" Ichigo asked worriedly. Rukia nodded dumbly in response. Quickly Ichigo put her down gingerly and went over to Grimmjow, immediately starting to fish about in his pockets.

"Rukia, if you'd only tell me what's been going on I…" Ichigo stopped as he felt his hand come in contact with something. Slowly, he withdrew the item and held it up for inspection. As he stared at the dime bag of pot in shock, everything began to fall into place inside his mind.

"Leaving early all the time…seeing you here downtown…never wanting to tell me what was going on…they…they…"

Rukia wordlessly nodded again. At this, almost instantly the look on Ichigo's face slowly distorted from one of shock and horror to a look of unspeakable rage that Rukia had never seen on him before. Ichigo shot a bloodthirsty look down at where Aizen had crawled to while he had been trying to unsuccessfully escape the brutal one-sided brawl.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

In an instant, Aizen found himself roughly grabbed by the shirt and lifted clean off the ground. Aizen took a hard gulp as he came face to face with an absolutely enraged Ichigo, whose face had become red with fury.

"You dirty, stinking, low-down piece of crap! So this is it? This is what's been going on?" Ichigo demanded fiercely, waving the bag of marijuana in his face. "Making my friend get your rotten drugs for you? Making her life a living hell every day to make sure she didn't tell anyone? IS THIS IT? IS THIS WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?" Ichigo roared. Aizen, not use to this violent role reversal, was completely paralyzed with fright.

"All right, I'm going to make this clear and simple." Ichigo growled, narrowing her eyes. "Everything that's been going on up until now, your little drug ring, the way you've been mistreating Rukia, all this stops, RIGHT NOW. You got that? In fact, I don't ever want you screwing around with Rukia, EVER AGAIN!" He cried, violently shaking Aizen to emphasize the last two words. "You got that, moron? From this point on, I don't want to see you give her so much as a scratch, you understand? Not you, not any of your asshole friends, NO ONE. You got that?" He hissed. Aizen nodded furiously.

"And don't you dare think you can try and outsmart me by sending one of your goons to do your abuse for you. I don't give a damn if you get some other punk I've never even seen before to pick on Rukia for you, you know why? Because as soon as I see any cut, scrape or bruise, then I will come running over to your apartment and beat the living crap out of you! That's right! I'm not gonna care who does it for you, because YOU'LL be the one who's gonna pay for it, every time! If you, or any of your cronies do anything to Rukia, then I'll make sure it comes back around to just you _ten times as worse_. If I see a bump the size of a pea, I'll give you one the size of a bowling ball! If I see one black eye, I'll give you black and blue all over your body! If I see a cut, you'll get a scar! And I swear to God, if I ever again find her limping so badly she can barely even walk, I'll put you in a wheelchair for a month!" Ichigo snarled, while Aizen quaked in fright within his iron grip.

"You think you got all of that? Did I get that into your thick skull of yours? You do anything to make Rukia's life a living a hell, and I'll personally send you to the real deal myself! You want that? DO YOU?" Ichigo yelled at the top of his lungs.

"N-n-noooo…" Aizen barely managed to whisper, shaking uncontrollably in fear. Ichigo lowered him a bit until the two were at eye level.

"Get outta my sight." Ichigo ordered flatly, loosening his grip and unceremoniously letting Aizen drop to the ground in a heap. With that, Ichigo quietly turned around and marched out of the grimy alley, stopping only to bend down and gather up a still very stunned Rukia. Cradling her gently in his arms, he carried Rukia over to his bicycle and sets her gently on the back of his bicycle. When he sits in front of Rukia, he helped Rukia wrapped her amrs around him and he cycles off from the alley with her.

The instant they left, Aizen immediately got up and ran off as fast as he possibly could, now of course carrying the extra weight of a very soiled pair of underwear.

* * *

That night, Ichigo arrived at Rukia's home. Ichigo immediately parks his bicycle next to the pavement, then gently unwraps Rukia's arms from his body and gently carries Rukia into her house.

As Ichigo enters the house with Rukia, Rukia's parents and Byakuya went over to him and Rukia in concern. "What happened?" Byakuya asked shocked.

"What happened to Rukia? Why is she injured?" Rukia's mother cried in concern. Ichigo didn't reply as he just simply passes by Rukia's family and sets the girl gently on her couch. Ichigo looked at Rukia who still looks shocked and dumbfounded.

"Rukia? Are you alright?" Ichigo whispered to her in concern. Immediately, Rukia wrapped her arms around Ichigo tightly and cried hard on his shoulder.

"OH ICHIGO! I'm so sorry!" Rukia cried unhappily as she cried and sobbed hard on Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo wraps his arms around Rukia and rubs her back.

"It's okay, Rukia. You're safe now." Ichigo assured softly.

"Oh Ichigo!" Rukia sobbed. "Everything I said earlier…so awful…I-I…I didn't…I didn't mean…"

"Yes Rukia. I know. You don't mean any of those words at all. And I forgive you." Ichigo said softly. Rukia then unwraps Ichigo and looks at him with red puffy eyes. Her brother and parents continue watching this dumbfounded.

Ichigo stares back at Rukia for a few seconds, then asked, "Well, what is it?"

Rukia nods her head slowly and managed to say out, "T-Thank…you, Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled warmly and said, "Hey, no problem Rukia. As long as I'm your friend, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Tears rolled down from Rukia's cheeks again as much to Ichigo's shock, she immediately leaned forward and kissed Ichigo's lips.

Ichigo's eyes nearly popped out in surprise. Rukia embraced him and kissed him passionately. A while later, Ichigo closed his eyes and kisses Rukia back. As they both continued kissing, Rukia's parents smiled while loose tears rolled down from Byakuya's cheeks.

"_I promise. I won't let anything happen to you…"_

**END OF CHAPTER  
****  
**Ryo: Probably the most beautiful chapter I ever written (Sobs). The final chapter is next so stay tune and read and review!


	7. My Guardian, My Love

Ryo: Sorry I'm late but the reason why I haven't written anything for two days is because of my exams. But I just finished them and now I can finally get back to writing. Here's the last chapter of the story. Hope you enjoy!

_**Epilogue: My Guardian, My Love**_

"…And that's pretty much all that happened." Rukia finished.

Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Orihime and even Uryu and Chad are all currently together at Ichigo's home and Rukia had just finished telling everyone about what Ichigo had done for her yesterday. After she finished, everyone listening to her was left wide-eyed.

"Wow. Ichigo actually did all of that?" Orihime asked in disbelief.

"He really did." Rukia nodded.

Ichigo blushed and smirked. Renji laughed as he pats Ichigo's back. "You don't have to act so modest, Ichigo." He said. "From the sound of things, you really deserve it."

Ichigo gave a nervous smirk. "Thanks Renji." He said.

"Because of Ichigo, Aizen and his gang never bother me again." Rukia said.

"And I'm sure if they do, I'm sure Ichigo will deal with them PAINFULLY." Uryu chuckled.

"Well, the main thing is that you're okay." Chad said.

"So what's in store for you guys, now?" Orihime asked. "You really getting' together?"

"Oh, definitely." Rukia nodded. "You have no idea how long I've been searching for someone like Ichigo. At first I always thought he's just a normal best friend to me. But now, I finally know that he's more than that. He's a guardian to me."

"Heh. That's me for you." Ichigo chuckled. "And I bet that your feelings just got stronger when I saved you."

"You have no idea." Rukia smiled at Ichigo as she now places her hand on his hand.

"Well, I guess you don't have to worry about anything, now." Renji assured. "With Ichigo looking after you, I don't think there'll be any danger around for a while."

The group just simply laughed.

* * *

That night, Ichigo and Rukia sat together on a bench at the park. They both looked up at the beautiful night sky and looked at the stars above. Ichigo looked over at Rukia who had her head on his shoulder. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her body.

"So Rukia, are you still worried that some day Aizen may harass you again?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo and smiled. "Of course not. And I don't care. Because I have you and I always know that you will always be there for me."

Ichigo's smile widens and said, "I love you, Rukia."

"I love you too."

The two then ended that night with a warm and tender, caring kiss.

**THE END**

Ryo: And that's the end of my IchiRuki original story! Thanks for reading and sorry if the ending is sort of corny. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and for those of you who enjoyed my previous Bleach story Momolan, guess what? There WILL be a parody of Momolan 2 and I'm sure I'll start the sequel soon some day. But right now, I need to get back to my current stories such as Ryo's Jurassic Park, 3942, Enchanted Saints, Nickelodeon VS Anime Universe and Ricky Blade and the Temple of Doom. I'll probably do the next Momolan story after I finished at least two of my current stories.

And until next time…READ AND REVIEW!!!


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